We live, we love

Life is busy, life is good. Oliver took 3 consecutive steps tonight, and it brought tears to my eyes. In just one week he will be One. Wow. Our little bundled babe is now a little dude (In Travis lingo). We are buying a house. I am changing jobs. We seem to have a lot going on lately, all good things. I want to write to recap the last year, but for now just an update...and more importantly Oliver pictures. Love to all of our family and friends who read this, I am constantly reminded how blessed we are to have you in our lives, near and far.

Oliver learned to climb on these boxes all by himself. Such a little adventurer. Dad trying to make sure this continues to be a good experience for him...aka, don't let him fall off.

Dad & O having a picnic at the park

Scrub-a-dub-dub. Bath time with cousin Jack

Grandpa Steve taught Oliver how to climb stairs. He is now an avid stair climber. Thanks Grandpa!

O & Jack pushing around, yes, tupperware lids. If only you could see the stack of toys to the left, being completely ignored :)

BG & O on Easter

First Easter basket

O watching history as Health Reform is signed into law. An advocate already.

You and me together, we can do anything baby

You and me together

We could do anything baby

You and me together yes, yes

You and me together

We could do anything baby

You and me together yes yes

Oh and when the kids are old enough, we're gonna teach them to fly

I was listening to the song You & Me by the wonderful Dave Matthews Band yesterday, and I just loved these lyrics. They remind me that even on the days that I feel 'stuck', really I am free. And while the little life of Oliver certainly demands a lot of me, I've never felt more free than when I am with him. Before Oliver I would not in a million years sing in the grocery store. Now I sing freely to him as I race down the aisles, simply because it makes him laugh. And never do I think twice about what the shoppers around me are thinking. I can spend hours crawling on the floor, reading books and making silly faces; and from that I feel accomplished. This new little body of hope, future and adventure that is Oliver. He is completely free, and he makes me feel like we can do anything :) And like the DMB lyrics, my most sincere prayer is that everyday I spend with him, I am teaching him to fly.

I think this video was taken in June/July of 2009. He is just learning to pick of his head, an athletic task at this stage in life.

This video was taken yesterday. It's really nothing special, just Oliver exploring in his swimsuit before going to the hot tub; but I think it's amazing that he has come this far in less than a year.

Playdate with buddy Joel

Beau, Oliver, Joel: Figuring each other out

Oliver LOVES to splash in the bathtub. And check out that O-Hawk.

Below: Being friends with Shanti :)

Dadada

It never fails to amaze me how quickly our little man is learning. "Dadadada" is the recent addition to his vocabulary, along with the long time favorite "Babababa", mixed in with some "Gagaga" and of course strange grunting slobbery noises that are classified with "Sound Effects." Travis of course is thrilled that Oliver is now saying Dadadada, and I'm still holding out for Mamama :)

O is also crawling everywhere, and pulling himself to standing on just about anything he can find (He pulled himself up on the toilet this morning, which of course I quickly grabbed him from, grimacing as I washed his hands for 5 minutes to make sure all of the invisible 'toilet germs' were washed off)

It is so much fun to watch him grown up, but it is also bittersweet for me-I am definitely not ready for him to be 1 in a few months! I am however looking forward to spring and summer. Travis and I are starting to plan some hiking/camping trips, hopefully Oliver won't mind sleeping in tents :)

Oliver's most recent adventures are pictured below :)

This is O's "Who, me?" face.

Valentines Day Hike. Oliver is sporting his new ride, our Deuter backpacking kid carrier :)

Table Rock

First trip to the Zoo

Oliver checking out the Siberian Tigers. He would like one of these for his household pet

5 months later...

Wow, so I've been neglecting our blog, and of course a lot has been going. I will do my best to give you all a good idea of what is going on with Oliver, Trav and I since our last blog...which was almost 5 months ago!

Oliver had his first Halloween (as Yoda) his first Thanksgiving (as himself) and his first Christmas (as an Elf). He is now eating solid foods of course, and has recently added finger foods to his diet. Mealtime has become much more fun for Oliver, and much more messy for mom. He does a good job of getting food in at least 5 different places, at least one of which I don't find until hours later :)

We now have a crawler after months of 'creeping'. Oliver has also learned how to pull himself up on things and wants to spend most of his time standing or perched on his knees. I'm guessing this means he will start practicing walking in the near future. This new skill gives him lots of advantages when trying to get into things he shouldn't. But luckily for him, Mom & Dad will let him play/slobber on/destroy pretty much anything as long as he can't a)choke on it b)get sick from it. His favorite toys are: the remote control, cell phones, a dog ball, any paper, a wooden airplane.

In other good news, I (Megan) am only working part time now (2 days/wk). This has been such a HUGE blessing, and a welcomed change for 2010. I can't begin to say how grateful I am for this. Oliver and I have lots of fun together-lets be honest: going to the park with my adorable son is much more fun than sitting at a desk all day :) Other exciting news, we are 'working on' buying our first house!! I say 'working on' because it is a short sale, and while the buyer has accepted the offer, we likely have a few months before the bank does. It will be a trial in patience, but well worth it if it works out.

All in all, I couldn't ask for anything more :) I'm sure the part you are looking forward to the most are the pictures, so here they are. Now that I have a little more free time I will try to update our blog more often than every 5 months :)

Always squirmy in his high chair

Holding his clementine like a football...making dad proud :)

Our first Christmas

Good morning BG!!

On the plane ride home from our trip to California

Playing with Cousin Jack